Seraphim
12-04-2003, 10:54 AM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031204/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_new_leader_2
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The new president of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Governing Council is a Shiite cleric and former militia leader who strongly objects to a key part of a U.S. plan to give sovereignty to Iraqis by July 1.
Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim is in charge only for the month of December, but his elevation to the top Iraqi office testifies to a post-Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) regime in which a long-oppressed Shiite majority has emerged as the nation's dominant force.
Addressing his first news conference Wednesday since taking over the rotating post, al-Hakim renewed his demands that a transitional legislature set to be formed by the end of May should be directly elected rather than selected from regional caucuses.
"The assembly will be elected by the Iraqi people. This is what we are trying to achieve and that's what, God willing, will happen," said al-Hakim, wearing the black turban signifying his claim of descent from the 7th-century Prophet Muhammad.
"There are differences of opinion on the council, but we are still discussing the issue," he added, alluding to the controversy over how to choose the transitional legislature.
Under a Nov. 15 agreement between the U.S.-led coalition and the Governing Council, Iraqis will vote in early 2005 for an assembly that would draft a new constitution and twice again before the end of that year — once to ratify the new constitution and again to choose a government.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) emphasized that the coalition in Iraq would stick to the original plan, which he said had the support of a majority on the U.S.-appointed council.
Commenting on al-Hakim's presidency and Shiite criticisms of the election plan, Powell said he was encouraged by the "open discussion."
"For the first time in decades, you can have an open debate about the future of the country," he told reporters Tuesday as he flew from Tunisia to Morocco. "And we hope through this process of dialogue ... we can reconcile whatever differences there are."
A Shiite cleric ranked one step below ayatollah, al-Hakim has a relatively modest standing in the complex Shiite hierarchy. That contrasts with his record as an able commander of the Badr Brigade, a militia set up in 1983 as the military wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The group — the main anti-Saddam group before the war — was founded in Iran in 1982 by al-Hakim's older brother, Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. In August, however, the elder al-Hakim was killed in a car bomb in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
Immediately, al-Hakim took over leadership of the group, placing himself at the helm of a powerful Shiite organization whose close ties with Iran's Islamic government have in the past aroused Washington's suspicions.
The Supreme Council has abandoned calls for establishing an Islamic state in Iraq since their return to the country in May. And al-Hakim has repeatedly condemned guerrilla attacks on U.S. forces, arguing that they hinder Iraq's return to independence.
His acceptance of a seat on the U.S.-picked Governing Council signaled a new chapter in relations between Washington and the Supreme Council. But al-Hakim has recently been vocal in his opposition of the U.S. political plan for Iraq.
He warned last week of "a real problem in the country" if Iraqis were not allowed to directly elect the transitional legislature. "It is not possible that a people who spent decades under oppression and sacrificed so many lives are not allowed to directly participate" in the political process, he said.
The fact that al-Hakim is a cleric underscores the key role played by Shiite clergy in representing Iraq's majority. Religious leaders moved swiftly to fill the huge political vacuum left in the wake of Saddam's ouster.
But al-Hakim does not have the political acumen or charisma of his slain brother, according to coalition officials who had dealings with him. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said he was overly concerned about the length of the political program agreed to on Nov. 15, which has six key deadlines over a 24-month period.
They said al-Hakim feared that a serious surge of violence could disrupt the plan, leaving the Shiites without any formal government structure to reflect their majority position.
The Governing Council itself has a Shiite majority, and al-Hakim and other council members have cautiously pressed for the council to continue existing after July 1, the date set for it to cede to a new transitional government.
On Wednesday, he said the Governing Council's fate was still being discussed — the first indication from a senior council member that the future of the body was far from sealed by the Nov. 15 agreement.
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The new president of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Governing Council is a Shiite cleric and former militia leader who strongly objects to a key part of a U.S. plan to give sovereignty to Iraqis by July 1.
Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim is in charge only for the month of December, but his elevation to the top Iraqi office testifies to a post-Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) regime in which a long-oppressed Shiite majority has emerged as the nation's dominant force.
Addressing his first news conference Wednesday since taking over the rotating post, al-Hakim renewed his demands that a transitional legislature set to be formed by the end of May should be directly elected rather than selected from regional caucuses.
"The assembly will be elected by the Iraqi people. This is what we are trying to achieve and that's what, God willing, will happen," said al-Hakim, wearing the black turban signifying his claim of descent from the 7th-century Prophet Muhammad.
"There are differences of opinion on the council, but we are still discussing the issue," he added, alluding to the controversy over how to choose the transitional legislature.
Under a Nov. 15 agreement between the U.S.-led coalition and the Governing Council, Iraqis will vote in early 2005 for an assembly that would draft a new constitution and twice again before the end of that year — once to ratify the new constitution and again to choose a government.
Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) emphasized that the coalition in Iraq would stick to the original plan, which he said had the support of a majority on the U.S.-appointed council.
Commenting on al-Hakim's presidency and Shiite criticisms of the election plan, Powell said he was encouraged by the "open discussion."
"For the first time in decades, you can have an open debate about the future of the country," he told reporters Tuesday as he flew from Tunisia to Morocco. "And we hope through this process of dialogue ... we can reconcile whatever differences there are."
A Shiite cleric ranked one step below ayatollah, al-Hakim has a relatively modest standing in the complex Shiite hierarchy. That contrasts with his record as an able commander of the Badr Brigade, a militia set up in 1983 as the military wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The group — the main anti-Saddam group before the war — was founded in Iran in 1982 by al-Hakim's older brother, Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. In August, however, the elder al-Hakim was killed in a car bomb in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.
Immediately, al-Hakim took over leadership of the group, placing himself at the helm of a powerful Shiite organization whose close ties with Iran's Islamic government have in the past aroused Washington's suspicions.
The Supreme Council has abandoned calls for establishing an Islamic state in Iraq since their return to the country in May. And al-Hakim has repeatedly condemned guerrilla attacks on U.S. forces, arguing that they hinder Iraq's return to independence.
His acceptance of a seat on the U.S.-picked Governing Council signaled a new chapter in relations between Washington and the Supreme Council. But al-Hakim has recently been vocal in his opposition of the U.S. political plan for Iraq.
He warned last week of "a real problem in the country" if Iraqis were not allowed to directly elect the transitional legislature. "It is not possible that a people who spent decades under oppression and sacrificed so many lives are not allowed to directly participate" in the political process, he said.
The fact that al-Hakim is a cleric underscores the key role played by Shiite clergy in representing Iraq's majority. Religious leaders moved swiftly to fill the huge political vacuum left in the wake of Saddam's ouster.
But al-Hakim does not have the political acumen or charisma of his slain brother, according to coalition officials who had dealings with him. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said he was overly concerned about the length of the political program agreed to on Nov. 15, which has six key deadlines over a 24-month period.
They said al-Hakim feared that a serious surge of violence could disrupt the plan, leaving the Shiites without any formal government structure to reflect their majority position.
The Governing Council itself has a Shiite majority, and al-Hakim and other council members have cautiously pressed for the council to continue existing after July 1, the date set for it to cede to a new transitional government.
On Wednesday, he said the Governing Council's fate was still being discussed — the first indication from a senior council member that the future of the body was far from sealed by the Nov. 15 agreement.